Thursday afternoon, 6’5″ 305lb offensive lineman Joey Palmer announced his commitment to Louisville via twitter. Palmer is now the 6th commit in the 2017 recruiting class and the 2nd offensive lineman. So what did the JUCO lineman like about UofL? “The style of offense they run and the opportunity to get out and pull and work in space” Palmer said. This ability to pull from the guard position was very important given the staff seeing him as transitioning from tackle at Butler Junior College to guard at Louisville “I will be playing guard at Louisville, and in the run game they do a lot of pulling with their guards. So that will let me use my athleticism and help make some plays”.

Palmer, who began his college career at California Junior College before changing to Butler Junior College will enroll for fall semester 2017 and have 2 years of eligibility remaining. The athletic lineman has recently been hearing from schools such as Houston, UCF, TCU, Iowa St., Arizona St., and UK but described the coaches and how they impacted him committing to Louisville “I liked Coach K (Klenakis) the oline coach, I liked his attitude toward the game and the vibe I got from him.” Palmer said. Not only was Palmer impressed with Coach Klenakis, but he also talked about Coach Petrino and the opportunity to play for such a big named coach “Coach Petrino wins. It’s what he does. And to be able to play for as big of a name as big and widely renowned as Bobby Petrino is a blessing.”

Another factor that influenced his decision was the facilities and the team itself. “I was definitely impressed with the facilities and the fact that Louisville is constantly an above .500 team, in the running for conference champs almost every year in a power 5 conference, and frequents bowl games.” Palmer said “I don’t see anything not to like. It will be a great opportunity and a blessing to be able to play for a slept on ACC powerhouse.”

Highlights:

Evaluation:

The first thing you notice immediately when you begin to watch Joey Palmer is how big he is. At 6’5″, 315lbs he has great size for an offensive lineman. The second thing you notice is how well he moves when he pulls from the tackle position. He uses his athleticism to get downfield and finish blocks at the second level. One aspect that I am unsure on (due to lack of film) is Palmer’s lateral quickness, which could be a reason Louisville is envisioning him at the guard position. Overall, Palmer has the size and athleticism to be a great offensive lineman for Coach Petrino and staff and it is easy to see why they were so interested in him.